Mastitis, lameness and disease are the most expensive — and most preventable — losses on a dairy. This 5-part course gives you the milking routine that keeps udders clean, how to read and treat mastitis, sound feet, a defended farm gate, and a year-round health calendar that turns firefighting into routine.
Chapter 1 — the eight-step routine, done the same way every cow every milking, that keeps bacteria out of the udder.
Chapter 2 — clinical vs. subclinical, the California Mastitis Test, what cell counts mean, and when to treat vs. cull.
Chapter 3 — lame cows eat less and breed worse. Locomotion scoring, the common lesions, trimming schedule, and footbaths.
Chapter 4 — most outbreaks walk in the gate. Incoming animals, quarantine, visitors, and the cheap habits that keep disease out.
Chapter 5 — vaccination, deworming, parasite control and the records that turn firefighting into routine. Your deliverable: a written herd-health calendar.